Posted by Ray Knoedl on May 10, 2002 at 13:23:28:
In Reply to: HELP ME with bending posted by don crichton on May 06, 2002 at 22:34:05:
: i need help!
: i can play straight harp fine, i can vamp....well passably
: but i CANT BEND!!!
Don, I once took a really good book out of my public library that taught bending and lots of other tricks. Wish I remembered the name. But.... to bend a note, remember, not all harmonica notes will bend, start on the 4th hole, draw. As a practice, draw into your mouth, without the harp, your lips in a tight pucker. Try to make an oooooh sound. Now, change the sound to an eeeeeee sound. You're changing the direction that the air is going into your mouth. Now do that on the 4th hole on your harp. The oooooh is the normal note, the eeeee is the bent note. If you're just starting to play, you'll find it easier to bend notes on a harp, C or above, Hohner Blues or Golden Melody. These are easier to bend than a Marine Band. Lee Oskars are very easy to bend, but they choke up on me. Blow bends, are something else entirely, and I don't have those down yet. Let me know how you make out.
Ray